Masonic Charity And Masonic Refreshment.

MASONIC CHARITY AND MASONIC REFRESHMENT .

HHHE Masonic Order has won for itself the reputa-- * - tion of being the most charitable and the most benevolent organisation of any in the country , and much as we may desire to support the reputation which has been secured , we sometimes pause and ask ourselves the question—is the honour deserved ?

Those of our present readers who saw the FREEMASON ' S CHRONICLE of a few years back will perhaps remember that we then published a number of Lodge Balance Sheets , giving in each case the varied items of income and expenditure , but withholding the

name , & c , of the Lodge , or other means of identification . Those Balance Sheets showed a very wide difference between the amounts disbursed in charity and the sums spent in refreshment , and no doubt if sufficient details had been given to render the Lodges easily identified the publication of the figures would have been most iniudicious . It would not have been

fair to the members of the Lodges concerned to hold them up to special notice , as they were really no exception to the rule . We were told that , despite the precautions we took , the returns were in some cases identified , so it was thought best to discontinue the series . As soon as it became known to what Lodges

the figures reierred , so we were told , the members were taunted with the disproportion which existed between the charity they preached and the charity they practised , and considerable annoyance resulted . T ^ hic ! Ttra a mnaf nn-faiv aa + lin " Rnlnii / m QT- >/ M-i + n ¦?^¦ .-. '' k

J . J-HO 1 YUIU iUUOU U .. UJ . UU .. 1 . , UIO UJ . J . C . JJCUJ . CU LUj C UU . * 0 * GV )» jJUU " lishecl were not by any means selected with the object of making a case either one way or the other . They were published just as they came under notice , and if they created an unfavourable impression it was the fault of the whole system which existed , ancl still

exists , rather than the outcome of any selection from it . The publication of the figures which came before us was discontinued , lest , in a desire to benefit the many , we injured the few , but we have since regretted that the work was not persevered in , for we are of opinion that were it possible to collect details of tbo

expenditure of a large number of our Lodges—say one-fourth of the whole number—such a statement could be submitted as would startle many of the better class of Craftsmen into a desire for immediate ancl thorough reform .

We are fully aware it is no part of our duty to dictate to the members of a Lodge the way in which they shall dispense their funds . Masonry is free , and in the matter of Lodge expenditure a perfect freedom of 3 iCtlOn Tftsta witb tbfi * mfimbfiVS "hut wo n . n . rrnnt aa w ^ ¦ — 1 LlliiWU

~ ..-... v »„•»,, "U « . ^ ^^ , cuo YY CJ say above , help asking ourselves the question—Is the reputation which Freemasonry enjoys in regard to charity really deserved ? There can be no doubt that a vast sum is annually subscribed by Freemasons for the support of the decayed brother , the widow , and the orphan , and perhaps all that is done by individual

Masonic Charity And Masonic Refreshment.

members of the Craft should be accredited to Freemasonry as a whole , but on the other hand it may be asked , how much is clone by the Masonic Lodges , as Lodges , to maintain the reputation of the Order ? Freemasonry , we are told , is not a Benevolent

Society , a statement which a very brief association with Lodge expenditure would at once justify , and regarding the matter in the light of our present subject it is almost to be regretted that it is not conducted on strictly Benevolent Society rules . Would

it not be much better ii some sort of systematic benevolence was enforced in every Lodge ? We do not say the money should be devoted to either of the existing Charities , or to any object in particular , but it seems out of character for Freemasons to boast of 4- l" » n Yj SW * I ATT / 4 I s \ v * OA « + + It AI T « I IHAI / MI TI r l- \ «¦» -. - •¦» - - J .- »>¦•- -4 . I- * *™ « __«« _ iue ixxcxx train

XJCXXCVUXVXXUV vx KJXUVX , WXXVXX XU sumo nine-tenths of the income of our Lodges is devoted to personal enjoyment , while the claims of charity are totally disregarded in a very large majority of cases . It is not sufficient for a Lodge to say that the

members dispense their charity individually , nor is it a fair excuse for brethren to say that their Lodges support the Benevolent Funds of the Craft . Both should do their share , Lodges setting aside a proportion of their income , and individual Masons giving as far as l . boiv nnsitiAn in lifa wnvvn .-ntprl UVUAUlViL \ IV A VI .

V . L . 1 l ^ -L-1 . J .. U . JLJLJLJ | ( * . . IV ^ U . V \ J . As the case stands now there is nothing like system , and nothing like fairness in the matter . Even the three Institutions of the Craft are without any

real support from the Lodges which make use of them , and the several committees are quite unable to even guess at the amount of next year ' s receipts . This would not be the case if Lodge support became the custom , rather than what it is at present , the exception , and as a result it would not be necessary to make such strong appeals for aid to individual

Masons as is now imperative . Looking at the matter from another point of view , we may ask , What does Freemasonry really do to deserve the high character it has secured ? It is

admittedly the most wealthy society in existence , it has Lodges and representatives in every part of the country , and numbers in its ranks , we may say , the wealth and prosperity of the nation . Yet with all fhis its f > mitribntinns in tbfi thvAA Tnstitn-f-irma nf iha

Graft last year amounted to just over £ 61 , 000 . This was a grand total , we admit , and we have already expressed our gratification that so large a sum was subscribed , but after all it does not appear so very grand when viewed side by side with some outside collections , or when considered in comparison

with the amount expended in Masonic refreshment . At present we shall only refer to one outside collection , and that the latest brought under our notice , and we ask all who peruse these lines to look at the matter in an unbiassed spirit , and then answer for themselves the question . we propounded in the earlier

part of these remarks . The figures we refer to are those in connection with Dr . Barnardo ' s Homes and Minion , which shows an